Another snippet from ‘Spoilers.’

It was eventually enough for her to bring up the troll again during another coffee klatch with Frank.  Or, coffee and hot water; Frank claimed to not need the ‘flavorings.’ Oddly, he also ate the most sugary pastries he could.  Fade chalked it all up to the oddities of grad students as she stirred her coffee. “I have a question that I don’t know if I want answered,” she said.

“Then do not answer it,” said Frank.  Immediately, Fade noted.

“That was quick,” she said.

“Of course,” Frank said.  “That is why they call it an ‘instinctive’ response.”

“Shouldn’t questions be answered, though?’ Fade said, warming to the topic a little.  “Isn’t that why we’re in school, though? To find things out?”

Frank considered it.  “I suppose that is one thing people might do in school,” he said.  “Another, though, is to work out what to do with the things that have already been discovered. Or what not to do with them.”

Fade opened her mouth, contemplated the existence of sarin gas, and changed her point. “Okay, sure, maybe you have to be careful about outcomes when it’s something like chemistry or engineering.  But we’re humanities students.  None of our by-products are going to get weaponized.”

“That we know of,” said Frank.